Porter Airlines has added to its 50 existing firm orders with the exercise of purchase rights to place a firm order for 25 Embraer E195-E2 passenger jets.

With the new aircraft, Porter will be able to reach more locations across Porter and continue its highly regarded service. With 25 purchase rights left, Porter’s orders with Embraer now stand at 75 firm, valued at US$2.1 billion at list price. This deal will be added to the Q4 backlog.

The E195-E2’s North American launch customer, Porter, has already accepted delivery of 24 of the aircraft and has just revealed plans to fly to new locations in Mexico and the Caribbean in addition to Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. At the moment, the planes are being used out of Eastern Canada, primarily targeting Ottawa and Toronto Pearson International Airport.

The E195-E2 is also bringing new services to Halifax and Montreal. Porter has decided to set up the 146-seat aircraft in a cosy all-economy configuration with 132 seats, offering 36, 34, and 30-inch seat pitches to their guests.

Etihad Airways is happy to announce that on April 22, 2024, it will begin operating double-decker flights on the A380 to New York JFK.

Etihad’s ability to connect to the larger GCC and Indian subcontinent, as well as the US market, has been greatly enhanced with the launch of the A380. It will also bring in more tourists who want to take in the sights of the energetic city of Abu Dhabi.

On one of the two daily flights from Etihad to New York, the A380 will be in service. A 787-9 aircraft with First, Business, and Economy classes will fly the other daily route. Now that Etihad has brought its superjumbo back to the skies, the US route is the second destination—after London—to experience the amazing A380.

The cabin includes 337 Economy Smart seats with large pillows for maximum comfort and Etihad’s signature fixed-wing headrests, as well as 68 extra legroom seats with an extra 4 inches of space.

The Business Studios, which offer 70 private spaces on the upper deck, offer a private sanctuary that relieves stress during travel. The Lobby, a serviced lounge and bar area situated between the First and Business cabins, is also located on the upper deck.

Currently, etihad.com makes the dream of seeing The Residence just a click away. * Guests can upgrade from a First-class ticket for an absolutely unforgettable journey, with special offer prices starting at 10,999 AED ($2,990).

• Special deal: Upgrades are available for purchase between November 29 and December 12, 2023, for 10,999 AED for a single person or 14,999 AED for two, one-way. Travelable starting on April 22, 2024 (except June 14–24, 2024).

The standard one-way residence upgrade fare from Abu Dhabi to New York is 16,600 AED per person.

China’s leading aircraft manufacturer, Comac, has announced that two new C919 narrowbody aircraft variants are being developed to meet a variety of operational needs both inside and outside of China.

The C919 Stretched Variant and the C919 Shortened/Plateau Variant are the names of these variants that were on display at the Shanghai International Commercial Aviation & Aerospace Industry Exhibition. Comac seeks to emulate Airbus’ A320 series and Boeing’s 737 MAX models by providing a range of sizes for its standard narrowbody model.

With 210 seats in a two-class arrangement, the C919 Stretched Variant, according to Comac, “conforms to the trend of large-scale development of single-aisle aircraft market.”

The Shortened/Plateau configuration can accommodate 140 passengers and has takeoff and landing performance suitable for all high-altitude airports in China. It has “good potential,” according to Comac, for more derivatives.

With over 10 million passengers flown, Comac’s regional jet, the ARJ21, has achieved a noteworthy milestone. A China Southern Airlines ARJ21 aircraft on the Guangzhou-Jieyang route served as a symbol of this accomplishment. As a result of its increasing presence in regional aviation, the ARJ21 is currently estimated to operate 1,800 weekly flights throughout China and Indonesia.

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An Indian businessman living in the United Arab Emirates took extra efforts to celebrate his daughter’s wedding. On a private Jetex Boeing 747, Dilip Popley hosted his daughter’s wedding.

The first scene in the video is of people dancing to Tune Maari Entriyaan inside an aircraft. A space set aside for ceremonies is also shown as the video goes on.

The groom thanks his father and his father-in-law at the end of the video. The bride joins in as well, saying that she never imagined experiencing something like it. He also thanked Jetex, a private charter flight operator, for making the experience memorable.

On November 24, the wedding ceremony was held inside a customized 747 aircraft, according to reports. The wedding ceremony took place after the party—which included the bride and groom—traveled from Dubai to Oman for three hours.

With 350 esteemed guests from all over the globe will be arriving by plane. On board, guests joyfully celebrated the day with a dinner of vegetable jhalfrazi, mushroom pulao, palak paneer, and dal masala.

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On Monday, IndiGo unveiled 6Eskai, a chatbot driven by GPT-4 technology and utilizing artificial intelligence (AI). Numerous tasks can be completed by the chatbot, such as making reservations for tickets, applying promo codes, and checking in online.

IndiGo claims that its digital team, working closely with Microsoft, developed the chatbot entirely in-house. The chatbot provides a unique platform for ticket booking across the network and responds to customer inquiries in ten different languages.

6Eskai can handle a wide range of tasks, from booking tickets and applying promotional discounts to facilitating web check-ins and helping with seat selection, according to IndiGo, which highlighted the platform’s 1.7 trillion parameters. According to the report, the AI chatbot can comprehend spoken instructions using speech-to-text models in addition to written or typed exchanges.

The airline added that its data scientists studied Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT) and used extensive prompt engineering to programme the bot to mimic human behaviour, react to emotions, and even inject humour into interactions.

British Airways Executive Club Avios can now be redeemed by members who spend money at London Heathrow’s World Duty Free shops.

Across all Heathrow terminals, customers can now earn one Avios for every £1 spent in any World Duty Free shop, covering everything from skincare and sunglasses to fashion and fragrances.

Before beginning to accrue points, Members must confirm that they have enrolled in Red by Dufry, the World Duty Free loyalty programme, and have input their Executive Club information into the Red by Dufry application.

After every eligible purchase, Avios will be awarded within 72 hours, with the first transaction offering a bonus of 250 Avios. In order to accrue even more ba avios, savvy consumers can also pay with their British Airways american express avios.

The British Airways Executive Club is always changing to improve the value of earning and using Avios. The airline launched its first avios points routes earlier this year, and it was revealed that avios british airways could be used to buy British Airways Vacation packages. eBay was added to the list of more than 1,500 retailers on shopping.ba.com in September, and new retailers are still joining them.

Shoppers at World Duty-Free stores in Spain can also earn one Avios for every €1 spent if they are members of the Iberia Plus loyalty programme. For more information, including details on eligible purchases and terms and conditions, please visit: www.ba.com/executive-club/collecting-avios/shopping/dufry